Montoya's Return: A Consideration of Acts 2:38 and Oneness Pentecostalism

by Michael R. Burgos

“You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” Most adults who were reared in the 1980s recognize that line from the novel come cult classic, The Princess Bride (1987). Inigo Montoya’s humble rebuke of Vizzini’s misuse of the term “inconceivable” gained traction in living rooms across America and consequently secured a memorable place in pop culture history.

In light of the emphasis placed upon Acts 2:38 by Oneness Pentecostals, I am compelled to invoke Montoya’s reply. Oneness interpreters harmonize Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 by interpreting the ὄνομα of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the ὄνομα of Jesus.[1] On the Oneness view, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the name of Jesus. This harmonization is what sparked the Oneness movement under the guise of a “revelation,”[2] and it continues to be a crucial and universal interpretive principle within Oneness theology, Christology, and soteriology.

A second consideration related to Acts 2:38 is whether water baptism is necessary in order to receive the forgiveness of sins. Although not universal among all Oneness adherents, the largest denominational expression of Oneness Pentecostalism[3] holds that Acts 2:38 is the salvific plan of God en toto, and that baptism and the subsequent reception of the Spirit with the evidence of tongues is necessary for salvation. However, this view, as well as the Oneness understanding of baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ,” runs into severe exegetical, logical, and theological problems. In order to address these concerns, I have provided an exegesis of Acts 2:38 and a consideration of Oneness Pentecostal teaching on this text.

Exegesis:

And Peter said to them: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)[4]

Πέτρος δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· μετανοήσατε φησὶν καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦεἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος· (Πραθεις Αποστολων 2:38)[5]

Peter’s Spirit-empowered sermon convicted his listeners such that they were “pierced through the heart.”[6] After hearing about their involvement in the crucifixion of Christ and his subsequent resurrection from the dead, the crowd asked, “What shall we do brothers?” Peter’s reply is the concise imperative: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” Luke placed the verb “repent” prior to φησὶν,[7] giving emphasis not upon baptism, but repentance. The two verbs μετανοήσατε and βαπτισθήτω are joined by the conjunction, but do not grammatically accord since βαπτισθήτω is singular and μετανοήσατε is plural. Some interpreters have sought to capitalize on this abnormality, suggesting that “be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ” is a parenthetical command that does not result in the forgiveness of sins.[8] In this way, interpreters have attempted to neutralize any ground for believing that baptism is necessary to obtain the forgiveness of sins. The difficulty with this view is that it ignores the function of the pronominal adjective ἕκαστος as it is joined to the plural genitive ὑμῶν. So too, the plural pronoun in “for the forgiveness of your sins” indicates that there is a group under consideration.[9] Thus, while βαπτισθήτω is grammatically singular, both verbs are intended to be understood as plural in force.

The preposition ἐπὶ takes the dative, giving the familiar “in the name of Jesus Christ..”[10] The preposition can easily take the meaning “in,” but Acts 2:38 is the only place ἐπὶ occurs within the “in the name of…” construction in the NT.[11] Since the two verbs are joined by a conjunction, it is possible to take “in the name of Jesus Christ” as modifying both repentance and baptism. That is, Peter may not have told his audience to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ only, but also to repent in the name of Jesus Christ. This alone would divulge that a baptismal invocation or formula is not in view. One doesn’t say “Vacuum and take out the trash, each one of you, in the morning,” if what one means is that the floors can be left dirty until the afternoon.

1 Corinthians 6:11 uses “in the name of…” in this manner:

καὶ ταῦτα τίνες ἦτε· ἀλλὰ ἀπελούσασθε ἀλλὰ ἡγιάσθητε ἀλλὰ ἐδικαιώθητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν. (Α Κορ. 6:11)

And this is how some of you were; but you were washed, but you were made holy, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:11)

Paul intended his readers to understand that the entirety of the work that comprised their salvation was done in the name of Jesus and in the Spirit. Weighing against taking “in the name of Jesus Christ” as modifying the two verbs are the other baptism “in the name of Jesus” texts in Acts.[12]

Oneness interpreters merely assume that Peter is telling his audience under what oral invocation they ought to be baptized. Such a view is unlikely because the passive βαπτισθήτω indicates that the baptizands were commanded to receive baptism rather than baptize themselves. While it is possible that Peter is telling his hearers to invoke the name of Jesus during repentance and baptism as in Acts 22:16 (“Rise up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling his name”), a formal invocation by the baptizer is not intended here. One may call upon the name of the Lord without speaking a word. Oneness Pentecostal baptizands don’t invoke the name of Jesus in their own baptism. Rather, the invocation comes from the lips of the baptizer.

If not a baptismal formula, then what does Peter mean by “in the name of Jesus Christ”? At times, when Luke describes an imperative such as Acts 2:38, the phrase “in the name of Jesus” is intended to modify the command and not the commanded action. That is, when the phrase “in the name of Jesus” or any variation thereof is utilized in a description that has imperatival force, the phrase often modifies the command being given and not the action ordered. Take for example Peter’s healing of the lame beggar in Acts 3:1-10. Peter commanded, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (v. 6). Similarly, in Acts 10:48 Luke records Peter’s response to the Spirit-filled Gentiles: “And he commanded them in the name of Jesus Christ to be baptized.”[13] When Paul encounters the possessed slave girl in Acts 16, he exorcised the demon saying: “I command you in the name of Jesus come out from her!”[14] It is possible that Peter is issuing the command to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. However, given the other uses of this phrase in baptism texts, it is also possible that it modifies βαπτίζω and thus indicates the kind or quality of baptism that ought to have taken place.

The “in/into the name of…” expression occurs outside of baptism texts in the NT and has a considerable background within the Septuagint.[15] There are many places within the Septuagint that describe doing something “in the name of the Lord” without any sense of an actual oral invocation in the action itself.[16] Outside of an explicit oracle, prophecy, or prayer,[17] there is no reason to believe that any action “in the name of” the Lord requires the actor to orally invoke God’s name. Rather, the expression “in the name of the Lord” is intended to identify the nature of the action and the one who established it. For instance, when a Levite is described as ministering “in the name of Yahweh,”[18] he isn’t invoking the name Yahweh every other moment. When the psalmist declares his trust “in the name of Yahweh our God,”[19] he is not suggesting that his trust consists of an actual oral invocation of the name. Instead, the name of Yahweh is a circumlocution for his person, work, and at times, the presence of Yahweh:

May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of Jacob’s God defend you. (Psa. 20:7)

Look! The name of Yahweh comes from afar, burning with his anger… (Isa. 30:27)

To do something “in the name of Jesus Christ,” isn’t merely to invoke his name, but to engage in an activity which derives from the acknowledgement of his Lordship and person. Such an understanding is the only means unto explaining the broad uses of the phrase in the NT. When John writes his gospel so that you might believe and “have life in his name,”[20] he is writing so that your life may subsist in the substance of the Lordship of Christ and what he has accomplished for you. When the Sanhedrin prohibits Peter and John from speaking or teaching “in the name of Jesus,”[21] they were outlawing any teaching about his person and work. Therefore, to be baptized in the name of Jesus is not merely to have the name of Jesus invoked while one is immersed. Instead, it is to submit to the command of Christ,[22] recognizing that it is by his person and work any peace with God is achieved.

The above interpretation is further demonstrated within Acts 19:1-5. Within that pericope, Paul and Apollos cut through the backcountry of Corinth and came upon some disciples in Ephesus (v. 1). Paul questioned these disciples, asking if that had received the Spirit of God, and they hadn’t (v. 2). Paul then asked, “Into what were you baptized?” (v. 3).[23] The disciples responded, “Into the baptism of John.”[24] After explaining the nature of John’s baptism, Paul and Apollos baptized these disciples “Into the name of Jesus Christ” (v. 5). As a baptism for repentance, John’s baptism was a preparatory type of the coming salvation in the resurrected Lord. To be baptized into Jesus then, is not to invoke the name of Christ, but to be united with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. This is precisely the manner in which Paul thinks about baptism within Romans 6:3-8. Baptism is the work of God through the body of Christ (i.e., the baptizer), wherein God receives the baptizand into union with Christ—hence the phrase “in Christ” as it appears within the Pauline corpus.[25] Since one receives baptism by a member of the church, it is an action by Christ through the means of his body. Bavinck concluded,

The expression “in the name of Jesus” is not meant as a formula but a description of the character of Christian baptism. Upon their departure into Egypt, the Israelites let themselves be baptized—in the cloud and in the sea—“into Moses,” in relation to Moses, so that they recognized him as their savior and redeemer, placed their trust in him, and let themselves be guided by him. The disciples at Ephesus were baptized “into John’s baptism” and by it had joined the community of John the Baptist. So also Christian baptism is and is called baptism in or into the name of Jesus because he adopts believers into his fellowship and directs them to put all their trust in him alone.[26]

Repentance and baptism is εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν. There has been considerable debate regarding the relationship of the imperatives “repent” and “be baptized” and “for the forgiveness of sins.”[27] As it relates to Oneness Pentecostals (and sacramentalists), the question is whether εἰς functions consecutively (having the force of “in order to receive” or “for obtaining” the forgiveness of sins), or if it is to be understood as referential (having the force of “on account of” or “because of”).[28] The Oneness Pentecostal viewpoint has historically been titled “baptismal regeneration,” but this title is a misnomer when applied to Oneness Pentecostals since they believe not only in baptismal regeneration, but baptismal justification as well, when joined with the reception of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues:

Since justification comes through faith, it occurs when a person fully exercises saving faith… Therefore, the full work of justification comes by faith as one repents, is water baptized in Jesus’ name, and receives the Holy Spirit.[29]

Much of the argumentation on the relationship of these verbs to the forgiveness of sins, however, seeks to provide a solution where a problem doesn’t exist. First, the operative verb in this verse is repentance. Consider the statement, “Whoever believes and is baptized will have the forgiveness of sins.”[30] This sort of statement says nothing about the necessity of baptism, only the outcome of faith and baptism. Similarly, that Peter commands both repentance and baptism does not necessarily mean that baptism itself affects the forgiveness of sins, but that baptism and repentance result in the receipt of forgiveness. Such a claim is the unanimous affirmation of catholic Christianity. That is, because repentance and baptism are linked in this verse, it cannot be said upon the basis of Acts 2:38 that baptism is a requirement for salvation. Moreover, repentance (and faith in Christ by implication) is shown to be essential for salvation in Scripture ad infinitum.31 Therefore, since repentance is salvific, baptism doesn’t need to be in order for εἰς to mean “in order to receive.” Whether one takes εἰς as “in order to receive” or “on account of,” there is no grammatical or theological reason to believe baptism is a requirement for salvation. Rather, only one of the verbs needs to be salvific for εἰς to mean “in order to receive.”[32]

Second, βαπτισθήτω is passive, indicating that one doesn’t baptize himself, but that one receives baptism from an agent of the church. Thus, to insist that one must be baptized to be saved is a bit like saying they must be employee of the month in order to receive their paycheck. Whether one is baptized is up to the agent doing the baptizing, as well as other environmental factors (e.g., the presence of water sufficient for baptism). Clearly, there are texts within the NT which identify the salvation of persons outside of baptism, both before the institution of the ordinance by Christ[33] and after.[34]

Third, Acts 2:38 is a narrative. While there can be didactic portions of a narrative and certainly didactic implications, the main teaching on a principle doctrine like soteriology ought to come from a didactic text and not a narrative. This is especially true if the reading of that narrative conflicts with the balance of Scripture’s didactic teaching on a particular doctrine. Paul’s exposition of the doctrine of salvation in Romans leaves baptism until the sixth chapter, after his discussion of saving faith in chapters 3-5.35 One must ask, if Acts 2:38 is the gospel, then why doesn’t it appear in the explicit didactic sections of the NT at least once? The analogia Scriptura precludes the Oneness reading of Acts 2:38.

Bernard, a leading Oneness writer, has argued that such a reliance on didactic texts is to the expense of the narrative passages:

Again because of their experiential orientation, Pentecostals are willing to give equal value to historical narratives in Scripture as to other portions, for, after all, narratives compose the majority of the inspired texts. By contrast, Protestants, particularly Evangelicals, gravitate toward propositional statements and explicit argument, such as we find in the writings of Paul, to the near exclusion of the theological implications of historical accounts such as the Book of Acts.[36]

Bernard’s assertions confuse the issues. Evangelicals give equal value and worth to narrative and didactic texts since all Scripture is God-breathed.[37] The question is not of value or worth, but whether explicit didactic texts should bear greater weight in instructing the church’s doctrine when compared to narrative texts which are placed within a specific historical context. Bernard has projected Oneness Pentecostalism’s functional rejection of Pauline soteriology in favor of a two-dimensional reading of Acts 2:38. The issue is one of purpose. Luke’s intent was to describe the events of primitive church history, including Peter’s sermon. Acts 2:38, then, is a singular command within a narrative that is predicated upon a specific Sitz im Leben. It is not a systematic summary of the plan of salvation any more than Paul’s response to the Philippian jailer.[38] Moreover, Bernard doesn’t hold his ‘Pentecostal hermeneutic’ consistently. Does he pass around handkerchiefs in order to heal people as in Acts 19:12?

Over and over again, Oneness writers proclaim ‘Acts 2:38 is the gospel,’[39] without tempering such a claim with the balance of the NT. If Oneness Pentecostals tempered their interpretation of Acts 2:38 with the balance of NT teaching on soteriology, their legalistic insistence upon baptism with the oral invocation of Jesus’ name would evaporate. Instead of the sufficiency of Scripture as it relates to soteriology, Oneness Pentecostals affirm the sufficiency and exclusivity of Acts 2:38. The Oneness hermeneutic effectively obliterates the Pauline doctrine of sola fide, and puts Pauline anthropology on its head. How can justification be by faith “without works” (Rom. 4:6) if obedience to Christ’s command of baptism is required? Bernard’s soteriology negates Paul’s claim that “Those in the flesh do not have the ability to please God” (Rom. 8:6). If unbelievers are incapable of pleasing God, then how might they engage in obedience to the command of Christ prior to the regenerative work of the Spirit of God?[40]

The reception of “the gift of the Holy Spirit” after repentance and baptism is the typical, but not universal, pattern in Acts. The future λήμψεσθε implies that participation in repentance and baptism would result in the gift of the Holy Spirit. Whereas Oneness Pentecostalism views the receipt of the gifts of the Spirit as necessarily accompanied with glossolalia,[41] the common manifestation of the Spirit was not glossolalia but xenoglossy (i.e., the use of preexisting human languages as in Acts 2:8-11). If one does not create an ordo salutis by atomizing and isolating Lucan “tongues” texts through the lens of twentieth century Pentecostalism, there is no good reason to hold such a view. In 1 Corinthians 12:10 Paul indicated that tongues were one of many spiritual gifts that are not universally given to all believers. Paul’s rhetorical question in 1 Corinthians 12:30 ably demonstrates that the speaking of tongues (i.e., languages) is not a necessity for salvation or entrance into the covenant community: Μὴ πάντες γλώσσαις λαλοῦσιν; The particle μὴ requires a negative answer, indicating that the gift of tongues was never intended to be a gift given to all people in the church.[42] This is another issue wherein the viewpoint of Oneness Pentecostalism is based solely upon a historical narrative to the exclusion of didactic literature which specifically addresses salvation and its evidence. Additionally, understanding the receipt of the Holy Spirit as a second “baptism” that is required for salvation is impossible given Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. Every person who is within the church has the indwelling Spirit of God. There is no class of Spirit-less Christian.

Conclusion

Baptism is an integral and immensely important part of Christian piety. It is important that every Christian be baptized, as baptism is something that Christ does signifying his union with the baptizand. The modern “Baptism is about me going public with my faith” mentality is flawed, unbiblical, and removes the substance of the ordinance. However, while union with Christ is salvific, baptism is not. Salvation and even baptism are doctrines owed to systematic theology; a pan-canonical discipline which accounts for all of what the Scriptures teach regarding how men may receive peace with God.

The Oneness Pentecostal insistence regarding the necessity of baptism, the invocation of the name of Jesus, and the evidence of speaking in tongues is misguided and is at its root, hermeneutical isolationism. The apostolic utilization of the phrase “In the name of Jesus” did not occur in a vacuum. Rather, the “in/into the name of…” expression has a rich history within the Septuagint, serving as a circumlocution for the person and work of Yahweh. Thus, in Acts, to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is not the invocation of the baptizand, but an expression which means being identified with his Lordship, his person, and his accomplishment at Golgotha and the empty tomb. To be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ is to enter into union with his person; in life, death, resurrection, and Sonship. _____________________

1 David S. Norris, I Am: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology (Hazelwood, MO: WAP Academic, 2009), Kindle, loc. 4218. David K. Bernard, Essentials of Oneness Theology (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame Press, 1995), Kindle, loc. 323-355.

2 Thomas A. Fudge, Christianity Without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism (Parkland, FL: Universal Pub., 2003), 45-7; 112-19. David K. Bernard, A History of Christian Doctrine, Vol. 3 (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame, 1999), 65. Cf. David A. Reed, “In Jesus Name:” The History and Beliefs of Oneness Pentecostals (Blandford Forum, UK: Deo Pub., 2008), 126-35.

3 The United Pentecostal Church International is the largest denomination, along with its international expressions.

4 All English translations by the author.

5 All GNT citations from the Tyndale House Greek New Testament (THGNT).

6 Acts 2:38. Cf. Isa. 6:5; Psa. 108:16 LXX for more uses of the NT hapax κατανύσσομαι.

7 There are a several variant readings of Πέτρος δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· μετανοήσατε φησὶν. While the majority of witness include the verb φησὶν, some omit it altogether (B, 218) or replace it with ἔφη (Ε, Ψ, 323 [εἶπεν: 42 et al.]), and others place the verb prior to μετανοήσατε (D). While the various options could be taken to support the notion that scribes felt uncomfortable with only an implied verb, there is early and robust support for the reading provided in the THGNT (p74, א, A, C).

8 Luther B. McIntyre Jr., Jan-March 1996, “Baptism and Forgiveness in Acts 2:38,” in Bibliotheca Sacra, 153, 53-62. E. Calvin Beisner, Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements: “Jesus Only” Churches (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), 58.

9 cf. Acts 3:26. Ashby L. Camp, 1997, “Reexaming the Rule of Concord in Acts 2:38,” in Restoration Quarterly, 39.1, 37-42. The majority reading reflects the fact that several uncial MSS (e.g., D, C, E, Ψ) and a number of late minuscules (e.g., 33, 323, 1241) omit the second occurrence of ὑμῶν. However, the pronoun occurs early and frequently (p74, א, A, B, C, 81, 181). While shorter readings tend to be preferred, the presence of the pronoun is the harder reading since it is likely that scribes dropped the pronoun in order to conform the phrase to how it appears in the gospels (e.g., Matt. 26:28). Further, McIntyre has pointed out that, “In every case in Luke-Acts the articular ‘sins’ also has a personal pronoun in the genitive.” “Baptism and Forgiveness in Acts 2:38,” Bibliotheca Sacra, 56. See also Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1971), 301.

10 While ἐπὶ can easily mean “in” (e.g., Luke 1:47; 9:48; Acts 4:18; 5:28), a few uncials (B, D) and a some minuscules (945, 1739) have ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ instead of the ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ. It is likely that the variant is an example of scribal harmonization since the typical Lucan preposition used in this construction is ἐν (cf. Acts 3:6; 4:10; 10:48; 16:18).

11 cf. Deut. 17:12; 18:5, vv. 19-20, 22; 21:5.

12 Acts 8:16; 10:48; 19:5.

13 Προσέταξεν δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ βαπτισθῆναι. (Πραθεις 10:48).

14 Παραγγέλλω σοι ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ ἐξελθεῖν ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς. (Πραθεις 16:18).

15 Lars Hartman, ‘Into the Name of the Lord Jesus’: Baptism in the Early Church (Edinburch, SCT: T & T Clark, 1997), 37-44.

16 e.g., Psa. 32:21; 43:6, v. 9; 53:3; 62:5; 88:13, v. 25, 104:3; Zec. 10:12 LXX.

17 e.g., Exod. 34:5; Zec. 10:12; Jer. 36:23, Dan. 9:6 LXX.

18 Deut. 18:6-7.

19 Psa. 20:7.

20 John 20:31.

21 Acts 4:18.

22 Matt. 28:19.

23 εἰς τί οὖν ἐβαπτίσθητε.

24 εἰς τὸ Ἰωάννου βάπτισμα.

25 e.g., Rom. 8:1; 16:10; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 12:2; Gal. 2:17.

26 Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation, Vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 504.

27 For a summary see Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 369-71 and R. Bruce Compton, 1999, “Water Baptism and the Forgiveness of Sins in Acts 2:38,” in DBSJ, 3-32.

28 Murray J. Harris, Prepositions and Theology: In the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 227.

29 Bernard, The New Birth, 327.

30 cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:18. Albeit textually questionable, Mark 16:16 records Jesus saying, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Note that the condemnable action is a failure to believe, and not a failure to be baptized.

31 e.g., Matt. 4:17; Luke 15:17; Acts 3:19; 2 Tim. 225.

32 cf. Luke 3:3.

33 Luke 23:43.

34 Acts 10:44-48. Notably, the Gentiles are described as having received the Holy Spirit, thus indicating regeneration and likely justification, prior to baptism.

35 The Oneness objection that Romans was to Christians and therefore didn’t teach the necessity of baptism and tongues for salvation is a canard since Romans is a inspired and detailed exposition of what saves a person. Moreover, that Paul utilizes two OT saints as his examples of NT justification (i.e., Abraham and David in Rom. 4:1-8) demonstrates further that faith in Christ (and by implication repentance) has always been the sole instrumental means unto salvation.

36 David K. Bernard, Understanding God's Word (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame Press, 2005), Kindle, loc. 1045-1050.

37 2 Tim. 3:16-17. “Faithful discipleship to Christ must be held to involve conscientious acceptance of all that Scripture teaches, whether in the indicative or the imperative mood…” The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, 43.

38 Acts 16:30-31.

39 Kulwant Singh Boora, Baptism in the Name of Jesus (Acts 2:38) From Jerusalem to Great Britain (Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2011), 30. David K. Bernard, Pentecostal Theology Volume 2: The New Birth (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame, 1997), 23-4, 71-3, 97. R. Brent Graves, The God of Two Testaments (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame, 2000), Kindle, loc. 3014. James D. Hogsten, Oneness Pentecostal Thematic Studies: Hebraic Foundations of Oneness Pentecostalism, Vol. 1 (Charlottesville, NC: Createspace, 2013), 143, 228-9. Ken Raggio, The Greatest Doctrines Of The Bible: The Oneness of God and the New Birth (Charlottesville, NC: Createspace, 2016), 63-4. Joseph M. Streeval, The Oneness Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries (Morrisville, NC: Lulu, 2018), 3, 253, 266. Samuel Sams, Oneness Pentecostal Doctrine (Charlottesville, NC: Createspace, 2014), 15-16, 141-2.

40 See also Michael R. Burgos, Against Oneness Pentecostalism, 2nd Ed. (Winchester, CT: Church Militant, 2017), 186-8.

41 e.g., Bernard, The New Birth, 227-36.

42 Bernard takes the tack that Paul, in 1 Cor. 12:30, is referring to the continued use of the gift of tongues, and not the original utterance. The New Birth, 242. Such a position is entirely circular in nature, and effectively ignores the key soteriological texts in the NT (e.g., where does Paul require tongues in Romans or Galatians?).